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Monday, February 20, 2017

Fist Fight 2017 * 1/2 Stars

Do you remember 1987's Three O'Clock High? I do. It was on cable a lot. Filmed at Ogden High School (in Ogden, Utah), "High" was about two high schoolers (a bully and a nibish) having a violent fight in said school's parking lot. They came ready with brass knuckles, a huge crowd watching, and surrounding cars as a veritable boxing ring. Three O'Clock High was decent entertainment. It wasn't an Academy Award winner. It wasn't a critical darling. It was just a 101-minute time spacer. Who knew that something similar would be made thirty years later. I didn't.

Anyway, Fist Fight (my latest review) has "High's" blueprint but Father Time makes it a slightly different animal. First off, "Fight" is R-rated and includes drug use, masturbation, penis jokes, and manifest F-bombs. Three O'Clock High on the other hand, is PG-13 with a little humor and some actual drama. "High" is more darkly comedic than anything else. Second, Fist Fight has its end-of-school showdown occurring between two teachers. "High" on the other hand, has two opposite students punching each other to a bloody pulp. Third, "Fight" has the advantage of social media. Thirty years ago in Three O'Clock High, there weren't cell phones, YouTube, Facebook, or hashtags to let people know about the big fight after the final period bell. In Fist Fight, the bloodied up brawl between its combatant characters, ends up on national news. I guess the whole country got to see some of the footage. Heck, I'm not surprised.

Now let's not beat around the bush. You're wondering if I would recommend Fist Fight. Well my answer is a firm no. This is a so-called comedy that is mean-spirited, rude, crude, and lewd. And in truth, no one on screen resembles the actions of any realistic human being. The worst part is that "Fight" with its envelope-pushing level of tactlessness, contains very few laughs. Yeah I chuckled once or twice but that was during a scene where some guy's daughter sings Big Sean's "I Don't F**k with You" at a local talent show. Even then, I felt a little guilty by my actions.

Protagonist's daughters and minimal guffaws aside, "Fight" is a movie that lives and breathes in its own vacuum. It takes place in a high school environment where students treat the faculty like garbage and get away with it (the inmates basically run the asylum). Also, the principal is bent on firing every departmental teacher without any true reason whatsoever. The fantasy-like plot has nice guy teacher Andy Campbell (Charlie Day), getting short-tempered teacher Rod Strickland (Ice Cube) fired for taking an ax to one of his student's desks. Angry and fumed, Strickland challenges Campbell to a "fist fight" after school. He proclaims Campbell to get his butt whooped and says quote unquote, "snitches get stitches".

Anyhow, despite my eventual one and a half star rating for Fist Fight, I will say that Ice Cube and Day are perfectly cast for their roles. Charlie Day is basically playing the same wheezily trouper from his Horrible Bosses flicks. His high-pitched voice and improvisation overload however, become grating after a while. As for Ice Cube, well a lot of critics say that he "growls" when he acts. This is true in "Fight". Plus, Cube's every facial expression looks like an overwrought scowl.

Overall, Fist Fight ends with outtakes that are just as lousy as the film itself. I don't know why filmmakers insist on using these tropes. They are tired and feel like something better suited for 10 years ago. It's the same old BS. Actor messes up a scene, everyone laughs and giggles, actor tries different improvisational tactics to complete the scene. Rinse, rinse, repeat. Rating: 1 and a half stars.

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Jesse Burleson

My name is Jesse Burleson and I have a love for film. I've been reviewing movies on and off since 2003 (my first writing gig was for my company newsletter) and it is my pleasure to share my views (good or bad) with you. My work is featured in this blog and ccconfilm.blogspot.com. I also have a vast amount of reviews posted in the audience sections of Rotten Tomatoes, the audience/critic sections of IMDb, and MovieSnackx.com. And in addition to having over 250 of them posted online, I am also featured on YouTube with a host of video chats of older and newer films as well.

I was born and grew up in St. Joseph, Michigan. Now I am based out of Chicago, Illinois. The first film I ever saw was Star Wars in 1977. I was only three and my father took me to a drive-in theater to see it. My favorite film of all time is Boogie Nights followed by Aliens, Apocalypse Now, E.T. The Extra Terrestrial, Pulp Fiction, Se7en, and The Shawshank Redemption. Thank you for viewing my site and feel free to comment on any of the reviews. My blog is viewed all over the world and I'm grateful to all of the readers who have made a visit. Thanks again and as always, happy movie going!